A gardening blog that I hope will be informative and useful, not just a simple report of what I plant when. Please feel free to comment, question, disagree, enlighten and share your experiences. My garden is in USDA Zone 4a and is contained in a tiny townhouse lot, which I am cramming as full as I can. Bookmark the page and come visit again! Or subscribe to either the live feed or the email service.

August 06, 2009

Joyce sent me an email with her solution for killing lily beetles. She says it works on both the adults and the larvae.

She takes one cup (250 mL) cooking oil, 1/2 cup (125 mL) Sunlight dish detergent, puts them in a one-litre bottle and fills it up with water. She sprays the insects directly and reports that they die within seconds.

I haven't tried it myself yet, but if I did, I would be watching to see if there are any negative effects on the plants too. While this spray sounds like it certainly would kill just about any insect on contact, it might be a bit intense for at least some plants.

Insects have a system of tubes, called tracheae, instead of lungs. These tracheae penetrate right through the insect's body. Air enters the tracheae by pores called spiracles. These spiracles are found on each side of the insect's abdomen.